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Google releases Chrome 7.0 stable

Google Chrome 7.0.517.41 on Mac OS X.
Nearly seven weeks after the arrival of Chrome 6 on its second birthday, Google has released version 7 of Chrome into the web browser's stable channel. The update includes hundreds of bug fixes, an updated HTML5 parser, support for directory upload and an HTML5 File API, which allows for web-based content to read files stored locally on a user's system. Full AppleScript support has also been added for Mac OS X UI automation, as well as a new options window for managing cookies.

The update, which moves the full version number up to 7.0.517.41, also addresses a total of 11 security vulnerabilities in the WebKit-based browser, including one that Google rates as critical and five high-risk issues. Google says that the critical issue can cause the browser to crash due to an issue with form autofill. The high-risk bugs range from other form related crashes, to URL spoofing, memory corruption and elements issues. The fifth high-risk problem reportedly causes the sandbox worker processes to fail on Linux systems.

Further details of the vulnerabilities are being withheld until "a majority of users are up-to-date with the fix". All users are encouraged to update to the latest release as soon as possible.

More details about the Stable channel release can be found in a post on the Google Chrome Releases Blog. Previously only available as a beta release, Chrome 7.0.517.41 is available to download for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux from google.com/chrome. Users who currently have Chrome installed can use the built-in update function by clicking Tools, selecting About Google Chrome and clicking the Update button.